-certified, or designed with energy efficiency in mind. and any project that includes a green roof in its application gets a faster permitting process. faster permits mean faster move- ins and more revenue. that, combined with energy savings, is the kind of green that incentivizes developers like jason westrope. >> if every rooftop in chicago was covered with green roof, the city could save $100 million in energy every year, so there is a direct benefit between the amount of heat energy gained by a building that's not covered, or protected, by a green roof, and that does translate into cooling costs downstairs. >> sreenivasan: downstairs is 900 michigan avenue, a luxury retail, office, and condo building. the green roof was installed because of the city's incentives, but they expanded it when they realized it was attracting tenants. chicago is also taking the fight to the streets. to see one of chicago's most ambitious projects, we met janet attarian in a downtown alley. she is a project director for the city's department of transportation